Tōkyō Babylon: A Save Tōkyō City Story
by Clockwork Butterfly
Summary: A serious attempt to novelize ALL of Tōkyō Babylon. Yes, all seven manga, all four drama CDs, both OVAs, Tōkyō Babylon 1999, AND the extra Wings chapters if I can ever find them! The first part of Chapter One is up. Sorry for the long hiatus!
1. Prologue: 1990

_"And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, that as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another: Come, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said: Come, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. And the Lord said: Behold, the people are one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth." (Genesis 11:1-9)_

* * *

Night had fallen and the vast metropolis of Tōkyō was oblivious. Electric lights of every kind imaginable blazed throughout the capital as citizens from every corner of the city refused to sleep. The population of Japan was estimated to be about 11,923,346 people. However, it has been said that its nighttime population can differ by almost two million. Regardless of the population, the nightless city was always like an invincible amusement park. 

At the core of the city, like a gleaming beacon of light, stood the Tōkyō Tower. From entertainment to aesthetics, the Tower represented all that Tōkyō stood for.

Of the millions of people in Tōkyō that night, one boy stood out. A long grey suitcoat covered most of his black shirt. On his head was a short black hat encircled by a red band. His hands bore black gloves, and a long white trenchcoat flew down from his shoulders.

His name was Subaru. Subaru Sumeragi.

Subaru had recieved a call of a distressing nature earlier that day. His services were required once again, this time in Roppongi. He had set an appointment for this new client at precisely six o'clock that evening. He had already reviewed his books and studied in preparation for his appointment. It was a waiting game.

When six o'clock finally arrived. The moon rose to its apex over Roppongi, nearby the Tōkyō Tower. Though the nightclub district of Tōkyō was vibrant with people, a single word could be heard behind the chaos of the night. A single syllable emerged from the dark depths of a crowded apartment complex in the heart of Roppongi.

"Om..."

The bedroom was dark as pitch; the lights had gone out mere moments before. Only two shadowy figures could be seen. Subaru was in the center of the floor, kneeling on his feet. His gloved hands were folded and his eyes were squinted.

Before the boy was the bed, perfectly made. Upon it lie a single _ofuda_ talisman enscribed with the Siddham character for Om.

"Om vajra dharma hrih svāhā."

Subaru's client shrieked in the background, cowering in the corner, as the young boy invoked the divine power of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.

"Om vajra dharma hrih svāhā."

Long ago, Avalokiteśvara vowed to free all sentient beings from the unending suffering of samsāra. One head was not enough for him to hear their cries, so he was given eleven. Two arms were not enough to reach out to them, so he was given a thousand. With these heads and arms, he continued to reach out to those still bound by suffering in order to grant them nirvāna. This boy was calling the bodhisattva to release yet another from suffering.

"Om vajra dharma hrih svāhā."

Moaning five feet above the bed, the naked figure of a monstrous woman materialized. The figure had terrible winding hair, and sores and depressions all over her skin. As her mouth opened to shriek, a sudden flash of wind almost took Subaru's white trenchcoat with it. Her fangs and horns were unsettling, but neither seemed a match for the two inch claws that each finger tapered to.

The man in the corner screamed again as Subaru chanted the _kuji-in_, his hands locked in a mystic mudra.

"Rin, pyō, tou, sha, kai, chin, retsu, zai, zen!"

The figure stopped moving, as if stuck in the flow of time. Her sores and depressions vanished, revealing beautiful milky skin. Her horns melted behind her skin and her claws reverted to ladylike nails. As her monstrousity vanished, and tears flooded her eyes, Subaru became astounded by the girl's beauty.

Two words echoed from every corner of the room.

"Thank... you..."

"Goodbye," Subaru said.

Subaru held out a hand to the woman. As she took his hand, her form evaporated into thin air just as quickly as it had appeared. Once that was finished, Subaru turned to his employer.

"It's alright now," he said, lifting his hat from the ground. "Because Akie has already left."

He watched his client's speechless face. It was as if the scare of the spirit engrained itself in his very soul. The frightened young man was barely able to breathe. Subaru deemed it his cue to exit.

Fitting his hat once again to his head, he left the apartment complex. Six-fifteen. It was still early, but moreso, it was a nice night for a walk. Subaru had more than enough time to walk from Roppongi back to Kabuki-cho, where two others patiently awaited his return. He had another appointment at eight, and even walking back he had enough time to eat before leaving for work.

Before the boy was the invincible amusement park of Tōkyō, bejeweled with neon lights of all shapes and sizes. As usual, the Tōkyō Tower rose above all civilization, the apex of all that man had strived for since his creation. The Tower and the citizens inside watched their city silently from above. Miracles, sins, and virtues alike could not pass through the city unnoticed. Neither could a boy that could invoke the divine power of Avalokiteśvara.

Who was that boy?


	2. TYO Part I

Six-thirty. The night had barely begun. Not far from Roppongi was Shinjuku, the business ward of Tōkyō, which was just as bustling once the sun set. However, Shinjuku's nighttime population settled in Kabuki-chō, the notorious red-light district within, filled to the brim with love hotels, casinos, houses of ill repute, karaoke bars, and other such novelties.

Aside from the various entertainments found in Kabuki-chō remained a few honest businesses. One of which was the Sakurazuka Veterinary Clinic on the edge of Kabuki-chō. Despite the usual chaos in the red-light district, a woman's voice emanated from the clinic. Like Subaru's mantra chanted in Roppongi, one syllable echoed above and beyond the chaos of the city.

"Hahahahaha!!" laughed the sixteen-year old.

"Hokuto!" Subaru chided while stroking a small white puppy in his arms.

"So after all that," she continued, "The girl who kept appearing in the man's bed every night was an amateur who he deceived?"

"H-Hokuto, you shouldn't laugh so loud. You might disturb our neighbors..."

"That's stupid. Just too stupid."

The girl wore an intricate and gaudy dress. The multicolored outfit was composed of several large leaf-shaped pieces, giving the llusion that it was made of exotic plants. Below her thighs, the dress became black stockings which ended with matching shoes.

Her face was nearly indistinguishable from Subaru's. They both had the same short black hair, pale skin, and bright green eyes. They were fraternal twins, though Hokuto had been born a minute or two earlier than her brother.

"So a player deceives an amateur, takes her back to his apartment, and things happen in bed. Then, he can't dump her, and she commits suicide? Even the weekly women's magazines wouldn't take such a classic gag!"

Hokuto stopped for a moment.

"I wonder why she only appeared in his bed though..."

"I'm not really sure," her brother answered, the puppy fumbling around on his lap. "But it seemed that Akie could only recall the bed in that room."

Hokuto burst into laughter.

"So the only thing he showed her in that room was the bedroom ceiling, eh? What a horrible man!"

Seized by a sudden uncontrollable rage, she pounded her fist down on the nearby table.

"The only reason men exist in this world is to deceive women! He was born three hundred years too late to deceive and dump her!"

"H-Hokuto," her brother said calmy, "We're in someone else's place. Try not to get so excited."

"But people like him live off the money that everyone earns with their blood and sweat! How dare he touch an innocent girl!"

She threw her fists up in the air.

"And furthermore, they should use people like him to clean up Chernobyl! Subaru!"

"Y-Yes," her brother tacitly responded.

"You don't need to help such horrible people!" she said, regaining some of her composure.

"But..."

"But what? Aren't you a man?"

"Yes, I am, but..."

"Quiet down!" came a third voice.

The door opened and a tall man entered. He wore a long white lab coat over a dress shirt and tie and carried various drinks into the room on a tray. He was the Sakurazuka to whom the Veterinary Clinic belonged. It was exceptional that at the early age of twenty-five, the man already had his own practice.

"Subaru exorcised the girl's spirit for her own sake," he said.

"Seishirō!" Subaru's eyes lit up as if he hadn't seen his friend in years.

"Sei! Siding with the males again!?" she said, getting up from her chair and sitting on the desk in the room.

"I have always been a supporter of women," he replied, offering Hokuto a soda from the tray he carried. "But, Hokuto, you should also know how painful it is for the dead who maintain all of their resentment and thereby remain in this transient world."

Seishirō had been correct. She understood all too well. Subaru had faced these resentful sprits before. Japanese legends and ancient tales named these spirits "goryō." This Akie whom Subaru had just sent to rest was the latest of many whom her brother had helped pacify.

Seishirō placed his tray on the desk next to Hokuto and took his place in her former seat, sipping the mug of hot tea he had prepared for himself.

"As for Subaru," he continued, "He didn't want the woman to suffer any further for that idiot's sake."

"Hm, you have an unobstructed view of Subaru don't you, Sei?"

"Because he's been repeatedly making a great effort to concentrate and be diligent every day."

Since Seishirō had entered, Subaru's attention had been diverted by the puppy on his lap. He unknowingly allowed the conversation concerning his diligence and strength to fly over his head.

"You and Subaru are like this, Sei," Hokuto said, forming a heart shape with her fingers.

"W-What are you saying, Hokuto?!" Subaru shouted, overhearing.

"The tea's getting cold," Seishirō said smugly.

"What's there to hide?" she asked. "Didn't Sei say that he was taken by you at first sight?"

She paused.

"You are Subaru Sumeragi, the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan, the spiritual protectors of Japan since the distant past."

Their shared name, Sumeragi, was written with the Chinese character for "star," a very powerful symbol in their clan. It was so important that both twins had even been named after major star clusters. Hokuto, the first-born, was named after Ursa Major. Subaru, born slightly later, was named after the seven visible stars of Pleiades.

"You are also the top of the few remaining _onmyōji_." she said.

They were onmyōji. Together, they born of those who practiced the ancient art of _Onmyōdō_. The strength of a practicioner of Onmyōdō was his ability to manipulate the essences of yin and yang that existed inside everything. Onmyōdō as a discipline went back to the earliest days of ancient China. Since its importation into Japan, Onmyōdō proved to change the annuls of history for the better, keeping it in a constant rhythm and flow. It was this ability combined with his tutelage in Tantric Buddhism that Subaru had drawn upon to call the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara and countless others.

"And you, Sei, are the heir to the Sakurazukamori group, the same onmyōji who instead remain hidden, controlling Japan from the shadows. The Sumeragi work by day and the Sakurazukamori work by night."

Many families had carried the task of producing fine onmyōji throughout history. The Kamo and Abe, and then the Tsuchimikado clans were especially responsible for bearing some of the greatest onmyōji in history. The Sumeragi clan and the Sakurazukamori were no different. They had produced magnificent onmyōji for thirteen generations. Though both the power and the responsibility burned deeply within Subaru's young heart, Seishirō had advocated instead his position at the clinic.

Before anyone realized it, Hokuto had stepped up to her soapbox -- one foot atop a desk and the other still on a swivel chair.

"And the head of one and the heir to another like each other!" she swooned. "How pleasant! What a romance! What a fairy-tale! How hard-boiled!"

"Hokuto," Seishirō mouthed calmly from the sink. "Your tea's getting cold."


End file.
